My name is James Cook, and I will whine all around Australia.

I spent the last two days up at Cape Tribulation, so called because Captain James Cook had a lot of trouble with his boat and basically went on a whinging spree down the coast. The area also contains Mt. Sorrow, Cape Fear, etc. He was so angry!

Anyway, Cape Tribulation is the home to the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest continuous rainforest in the world. We stopped at a wildlife sanctuary and got to see a cassowary. These are the largest land animals in Australia, and this one is only half as big as they get.

Cassowaries are rare in the wild, and their biggest threat is cars. There are speed bumps everywhere to keep cars slow. The drive up was beautiful, and when we got there I promptly fell asleep for two hours because apparently I have not slept enough.

I woke up that evening to go on a guided night forest walk. We saw lots of spiders and centipedes and katydids and crickets, as well as possums and treefrogs and mountain dragons (big lizards that sleep on trees).

Bufos! Unfortunately, Cane Toads are a huge pest and are found EVERYWHERE. They’re still cute, though.

This morning was very relaxing. I got up late (8:30!) and went on a walk along the beach and into the forest. You can’t even put your feet in the water because there are deadly jellyfish everywhere this time of year. You get to the beach through a mangrove forest filled with walking trees. These trees can move up to 3cm each year by stretching out their roots.

On the beach and through the mangroves there were lots of little crabs. My favourites are the ones that dig by making little balls of sand as they move downwards. When the tide is out, the sand is covered with them.

I saw two huge monitor lizards on the way back from my rainforest walk. They were so pretty, big lizards with giant claws and yellow spots.

The walking trees.

Afterwards, I just hung out by the pool until the bus came to take us back. We stopped for some exotic fruit ice cream, and then went on a boat cruise. This was one of the most awesome things I did in the Daintree. We saw a big croc under the water, and some little yearlings hanging out on the banks.

Apparently, fruit bats grow from trees?

White lipped tree frogs are the cutest things ever in the world. I know I say that a lot, but I’m serious this time.

Here are five in a row. Awww.

Then we just headed back to Cairns, and I met up with a bunch of people afterwards for a big barbecue on the Esplanade by the water. It was very nice and a great way to end the day.